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I am trying to setup a web map server on a CentOS 6.2 virtual machine for development. I have never used Linux or web mapping frameworks, but I am trying to do this work as low cost as possible. So far, I am having some difficulty determining how to install and configure all the packages I need.

Here are the packages I want to install:

Apache Web Server Apache Tomcat? - is this necessary? Geoserver PostgreSQL/PostGIS GeoExt? Mapfish?

Has anyone had any experience with these packages in a Linux server? Could you provide any advice or links for setting this up?

Thanks in advance

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3 Answers

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If you want a painless installation, you might want to try the OpenGeo Suite. It comes with preconfigured and integrated GeoServer and PostGIS.

First, add the repos: For 32-bit systems:

 cd /etc/yum.repos.d
wget http://yum.opengeo.org/centos/5/i386/OpenGeo.repo

for 64 bit systems:

cd /etc/yum.repos.d
wget http://yum.opengeo.org/centos/5/x86_64/OpenGeo.repo

Update yum:

yum update

You can then install the OpenGeo Suite by typing:

yum install opengeo-suite

Once the installation has completed, you can go to the dashboard by navigating to:

http://localhost:8080/dashboard/
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Thanks @R.K. - is the OpenGeo Suite community edition licensed for commercial purposes? – Brian Feb 9 '12 at 17:18
It is licensed under the GPL so you may use it however way you want as long as you comply with the GPL. softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/compliance-guide.html – R.K. Feb 10 '12 at 2:37
up vote 4 down vote

I wrote up my experiences at http://ian01.geog.psu.edu/geoserver_docs/ (link is currently broken) which should answer most of your questions. The key step is installing Oracle's Java instead of OpenJDK.

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Is there a new link? That one appears broken. – BradHards Apr 26 at 7:36

We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer: please explain why you're recommending it as a solution. Answers that don't explain anything will be deleted. See Good Subjective, Bad Subjective for more information.
up vote 1 down vote

the quickest way to run GeoServer is:

  • install java in your linux machine, using prepared RPM packages o "by hand" if you prefer. Use "java -version" to check you have the Oracle java version, not the opensource one.

  • from here http://geoserver.org/display/GEOS/Stable download the binary independent package

  • uncompress, move into geoserver folder and execute: "java -jar start.jar".

You also can use the geoserver/bin/startup.sh script.

I usually edit it and add this line: export GEOSERVER_HOME=/opt/software/geoserver-2.1.3/bin

to ensure the GEOSERVER_HOME environment variable is defined.

With this you will have a basic installation only fine for development (not production) environment. In addition you can install Postgres+PostGIS if you want to use a spatial DB to store features but it is not requried by geoserver.

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Thanks @neil. This is a development machine, but my hope is that once I set it up and get my web map application running, I would like to copy the virtual machine to the production server. What would be difference about this installation for production? – Brian Feb 3 '12 at 20:38
For production you can install too the JAI libraries for better raster performance and increase some Tomcat parameters (like memory). – neil Feb 3 '12 at 21:37

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